Part II of the October Yearling Sale kicked off on Wednesday with another 124 lots going through the Arqana sales ring, headed by a Showcasing (GB) colt from the Haras du Mont Dit Mont consignment who went the way of Ross Doyle and Meridian International for €170,000. It was another notable result for the Mont Dit Mont team after they sold the Night Of Thunder (Ire) colt who shared top billing on Tuesday when bought by trainer Yann Barberot for €500,000.
Lot 235 is out of the Dream Ahead mare Vivid Dream (Ire), who is in turn out of a full-sister to the Listed Glasgow Stakes winner Parthenon (GB) (Dubai Destination) and a half-sister to the G3 Prix de Conde scorer Graikos (GB) (Rainbow Quest) and G3 Prix de Barbeville winner Magna Graecia (Ire) (Warning {GB}).
Incidentally, Magna Graecia's best daughter, the Listed-placed Taranto (GB) (Machiavellian), is the dam of the G1 Prix Jean Prat hero and sire Territories (Ire), while other descendants of this colt's fourth dam, the Irish Oaks winner Helen Street (GB) (Troy {GB}), include top-class performers such as Street Cry (Ire) and Shamardal, both of whom went on to prove themselves elite sires, too.
“He's a lovely individual,” Doyle said of the colt. “He was our pick of the day. He's very racy and I think he should hopefully be an early-season two-year-old. He's a very good mover, very strong, and a typical Showcasing. He comes from a good farm and a good family, so we're very happy.
“He's been bought in partnership for some Scandinavian clients, Stall Perlen and Finn Blichfeldt, to stay in France with Pia [and Joakim] Brandt. It's been a lucky sale for them over the years and they really enjoy coming to Arqana and seeing the horses in this lovely location. We bought Zakopane here last year and he looks like he could be a very good horse.”
The €420,000 it cost to secure Zakopane (Fr) at this sale in 2023 saw him share top billing with Mount Kilimanjaro (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}). Both horses got off the mark earlier this month, with Aidan O'Brien's Mount Kilimanjaro (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) winning the Arqana Series – Haras de Bouquetot Criterium d'Automne at Longchamp on Arc weekend, before Zakopane ran out an impressive three-length winner when making his debut at Ovrevoll in Norway, sporting the blue and white silks of Stall Perlen.
Offered by Haras du Mont Dit Mont at the #OctoberYearlingSale, lot 2️⃣3️⃣5️⃣ a colt by #Showcasing @whitsburymanor from the family of TERRITORIES, VICTOR LUDORUM and SHAMARDAL, is knocked down for €170,000 to @Doyle_Racing & @MERIDIAN7. pic.twitter.com/EHvbSJREPL
— ARQANA (@InfoArqana) October 23, 2024
Six-Figure Yearlings for Hello Youmzain and First-Season Sires
The Showcasing colt was one of six yearlings to sell for a six-figure sum on Wednesday, with the others including lot 326, a Hello Youmzain (Fr) colt from the Arcadia Elevage draft who was purchased by the Chantilly Bloodstock Agency for €140,000.
From the family of the Derby winner Adayar (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), he is out of the Siyouni (Fr) mare Eau Vive (Ire) whose dam, the Listed-placed Cascading (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}), is a half-sister to the G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere hero and sire National Defense (GB), as well as this year's Listed scorer Evade (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), who was bought by David Redvers for €300,000 at the Arqana August Yearling Sale.
First-season sires St Mark's Basilica (Fr) and Victor Ludorum (GB) were both responsible for one six-figure yearling apiece. Darley's Victor Ludorum was first when lot 329, a filly out of the Listed-placed Eleona (Ger) (Areion {Ger}), consigned by Haras de l'Hotellerie, went the way of Andreas Schutz for €110,000. Then, just a short time later, St Mark's Basilica was responsible for lot 332, a colt from La Motteraye Consignment who was knocked down to Spanish bloodstock agency Stamina Turf for €100,000.
“He's a very good-looking horse, by a first crop stallion,” said Stamina Turf's Rafael Rojano. “The market is quite strong, so we had to wait until the end of the day, but he's probably one of the best [of the yearlings offered on Wednesday]. He moves very well and we're very happy.”
Rojano added, “I started in 2007 when I was 18 and I have a lot of background here. I've had some success and I love this sale. Spanish guys, in general, we love this sale, so hopefully we have some luck.”
The hammer comes down at €100,000 for the lot 3️⃣3️⃣2️⃣ as @StaminaTurf buy the colt of #StMarksBasilica @coolmorestud from the family of SOLEMIA, offered by @La_Motteraye at the #OctoberYearlingSale. pic.twitter.com/OcEZ8iNvpc
— ARQANA (@InfoArqana) October 23, 2024
Elliott Shows Some Love for Zarak
Coolmore's St Mark's Basilica starred at the August Yearling Sale when his filly out of Ecurie des Monceaux's blue hen Prudenzia (Ire) (Dansili {GB}) was bought by MV Magnier for €1,700,000, while Haras de Bonneval's Zarak (Fr) is enjoying another busy sale here this week, 12 months on from when his Zakopane topped proceedings.
The highest-grossing stallion over the first two days, with 22 yearlings selling for an aggregate of €1,736,000 and at an average of €78,909, Zarak had a colt (lot 242) from Haras de Precolette sell for €100,000 on Wednesday, as well as a filly (lot 225) from Haras de Aumonerie who was bought by Nexus Consulting for €95,000.
Alex Elliott struck the winning bid on the colt–a half-brother to the G3 Prix des Chenes third Zyzzyva (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr})–and confessed to being a big fan of the stallion as he said, “He's the fifth horse by Zarak that we've bought at this sale–we like the stallion a lot. He's a horse that will probably need a bit of time, but he really stood out. We're very happy.”
Elliott's spending on Wednesday totalled €265,000 for three lots bought, while Richard Powell of LDC Bloodstock was another happy man after securing lot 258, a Mehmas (Ire) filly from the family of the Group 1-winning sprinter Prohibit (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}), for €105,000. She was consigned by Coulonces.
“We're delighted,” Powell said of the purchase. “I've bought her for one of my existing clients that is investing in the Flat and she'll be trained by Tim Donworth.”
€105,000 from @LCbloodstock secures lot 2️⃣5️⃣8️⃣, a filly by #Mehmas @alshaqabracing & @HoStud, consigned by @AnnaSundstr at the #OctoberYearlingSale. pic.twitter.com/XtZQ8gUySX
— ARQANA (@InfoArqana) October 23, 2024
Pinhooking Fortunes On Wednesday
Of the 130 horses catalogued during Wednesday's session, nine were pinhooks, and all lots visited the ring. One lot did not meet its reserve and was a buy-back, leaving eight yearlings marked as sold. Of the latter group, three made a profit ranging from €1,200 to €11,000.
Five lots lost money. The eight pinhooks marked as sold were acquired for €450,000 as foals (plus costs) and made €358,000 on Wednesday representing a -20.4% return.
We have multiplied the price of the foal by 1.1 and added a running cost of 12,000gns (for foals bought in guineas), £12,500 (for foals bought in pounds) or €15,000 (for foals bought in euros) for keep, feed, veterinary, shoeing, sales prep and sales entry fees. Depending on whether someone has their own farm, or where they choose to board a horse, will obviously mean that costs for each individual can vary significantly.
It is worth noting that sometimes a horse can appear to be bought and sold by different names but have actually not changed ownership at all.
The first day of Part II saw 97 yearlings change hands (77.6%) for a gross of €4,341,000, up 24% on last year's trade. The average rose 25.4% to €44,753 and the median increased to €37,000 (+45.1%).
The sales runs until Saturday with parts two and three of the catalogue. Sessions will begin at 2 p.m. daily, barring Saturday, Oct. 26, which begins at 11 a.m.
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